always there for you
by insanities
Summary: Claire and Todd one-shot. Siblings; they are as close as hands and feet. They are always there for each other. "That's what siblings are suppose to do. Just remember that I'm always there for you, no matter what." Read and Review!


**a/n: Hey guys! This is a short Claire and Todd one-shot. It's very OoC, but please bear with me here! Sorry for the many mistakes, I haven't gotten the chance to read over my work, so please tell me what mistakes I have made so I can correct it in the future.**

**disclaimer: I still don't own the clique series, how many times do I have to tell you? Read and Review!**

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Twelve year old Claire stood in front of her easel and smiled. She spent _forever_ on her painting, and she placed a lot of dedication and determination into her acrylic portrait. Just last night, she pulled an all-nighter, trying to finish her painting before the auditions for Lincoln, a prestigious art high school; it has been her dream since she was ten to go to that school. She just needed the painting to complete her portfolio.

Just when she was about to put her painting away into her portfolio bag, a remote control toy helicopter flew into the room and hit a jar of red paint, which spilled all over Claire's masterpiece. Tears stung Claire's eyes. Her masterpiece, was now ruined and her spot for Lincoln was gone forever. The owner of the toy helicopter, Todd, just ran into the room, his eyes big and full of regret when he noticed the damage he caused. When Claire saw her younger brother, her vision turned red.

"Todd! Why? Why did you have to ruin my painting?" Claire screamed between sobs. Hot tears streaked down her face, her hands curling into a fist.

"I-I didn't mean to! I was an accident!" Todd stuttered, his face a bright red from embarrassment.

It happened so fast, Todd didn't see it coming. But, Claire's fist slammed into his face, hard enough to make Todd fall to the ground. She left him a black eye; a bruise that will fade, but the scar wouldn't. The scar was always there to remind Todd how he lost his best friend.

::

He spent hours trying to earn Claire's forgiveness. Todd decided to try and fix the damaged painting. He tried to rub the paint off with water, which only made the stain worse. After gruesome hours of trying to rub the red paint off, Todd knew he messed up big time. The paint eventually dried onto the canvas, and it was now impossible to get the acrylic red paint off without damaging Claire's painting underneath.

Todd tried his best to apologize to Claire. But when Todd tried to apologize to Claire, she acted like Todd was invisible; to Claire, he was a nuisance who was swatted away like a fly.

Finally, Todd couldn't take it anymore and snapped. He couldn't stand how Claire keeps neglecting him. Normally, Claire would get over Todd's mistakes after an hour, maybe a day at most. But it has been over a month, and Claire is still holding a grudge.

"I'm sorry okay!" Todd said. "I'm sorry, I didn't know that a stupid painting will set you off," he muttered under his breath. He figured that Claire didn't hear him, after all she did ignore him for a long time. But Claire heard. What Todd said really hurt her.

For Claire, the painting meant a lot to her. She painted the person she loved the most, the one she would protect no matter what. It was the most precious painting she had ever done. It was funny how the person destroyed and insulted a portrait of himself.

::

Todd was always bullied at school; it happened so often, it became a daily routine. He remembered the old days, when he was younger, Claire would be by his side, twenty-four seven. If anyone messes with him, they would have to first mess with Claire. And since she was in the well known Pretty Committee, she was considered untouchable. But after the whole paint incident, Claire refused to speak to him, much less acknowledge him.

It was after school when the bullies came. Todd was just sitting on the curb, waiting for Claire to pick him up from school. Originally, Claire refused to pick up Todd from school, but after a long argument with their mom, Claire reluctantly agreed.

"Hey look, it's Todd the freak! What shall we do today; toliet or dumpster? Your choice." the leader of the gang, Mark, said. He grabbed Todd's hair and pulled on his hair, hard. They went on for ten minutes, insulting him and throwing punches at Todd.

"You are worthless and a freak, just like your sister." Mark teased.

As soon as he mentioned his sister, Todd snapped. Nobody messes with Claire and gets away with it. Anger pumped into Todd's veins. His mind went blank; he couldn't comprehend what was going on and what he was doing. He immediately pushed Mark off his feet. A groan escaped Mark's mouth as he slammed into the concrete floor. Todd placed his elbow down onto Mark's chest, making it hard for Mark to breathe.

"Never say that my sister is a worthless freak. She is the best sister that anyone would have and she is worth thousands more than you," Todd yelled, his voice laced with anger. "Now go before you will regret that you were ever born." Todd released Mark from his grip, his mind starting to refocus. Mark nodded as he and his gang sprinted away.

"We will be back! And you won't get away next time!" Mark yelled out as he ran down the street.

Unknown to him, the mentioned towhead was standing just a few feet away, hidden by the shadows. And she heard everything.

::

The next day, Claire offered to pick up Todd from school, an unusual behavior from Claire. Normally, Claire would go into drama mode, and would complain for an hour before agreeing to pick up Todd from school.

Again, Mark and his group came back at the same time after school. Marks eyes were full of anger. Their pride has obviously deflated from the day before, and this time, they were going to get their revenge.

"Hey loser, you aren't going to get away this time." Mark said, cracking his knuckles. Todd closed his eyes and braced himself for the worst. But it never came.

A figure slammed into Mark. He was pressed against the school building's wall. The person who push Mark had it's right forearm against his neck, and had it's left elbow pressed onto his pressure point on his shoulder. The person was breathing heavily, but it wasn't from being tired. As soon as the person started to talk, Todd knew who was his heroine.

"If you mess with my brother, you must go through me first," Claire said. She dug her elbow deeper into Mark's shoulder, making him cry out in pain. "Now swear that you will never, and I mean never bully Todd again or else."

Mark nodded, his eyes full of fear. He knew never to mess with Claire and her clique. He knew that there would be consequences if you messed with the infamous Pretty Committee. "W-we swear." he said, raising his arms, showing that he surrender.

"Good. Now leave." Claire said, releasing Mark. Mark immediately collapsed before running off with his group. Claire brushed off the dirt off her pants and helped Todd up.

"Thanks Claire for being there for me." Todd said, hugging his sister. Surprisingly, Claire hugged back.

Claire smiled, "That's what siblings are suppose to do. Just remember that I'm always there for you, no matter what."

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**a/n: Idk why I just don't seem to be satisfied with this one-shot. I always thought that Claire and Todd had the typical sibling relationship, they would protect one another no matter what. Thanks for reading:)) **


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